NEW YORK CITY -- The National Coffee Association will present a webinar on the impact of California's recent addition of acrylamide to the list of products regulated by its Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act. It's set for June 1, from 12 noon to 1:30 p.m. (Eastern time), and a registration discount is available to members of the National Automatic Merchandising Association.

Acrylamide is a compound that forms in a great many foods when they're cooked – and in coffee when it's roasted. The amounts are so minuscule that its presence in food was not discovered until 2002. But feeding large quantities to laboratory animals has produced adverse effects and, under the language of the California law – familiarly called "Proposition 65" -- it must be listed, with consequences for coffee roasters and purveyors.

Featured presenters will include Dr. Craig Llewellyn, Kraft Foods; Roel Vaessen, European Coffee Federation; Joseph DeRupo, National Coffee Association; and Robin Stafford Esq., Morrison & Foerster LLC. They will discuss the science of acrylamide and its natural formation in cooked foods; regulatory developments in California and other jurisdictions; implications of Proposition 65 for industry members outside of California; information about how NCA is supporting and keeping the industry informed; and breaking news regarding acrylamide science and legal proceedings.

NCA emphasizes that "acrylamide litigation impacts all companies who roast, package, distribute, serve or sell coffee in the state of California, regardless of where they are incorporated, maintain headquarters or offices, or otherwise do business in the U.S. or abroad."

Online registration is available at the NCA website: ncausa.org. Cost for members is $59, and $99 for nonmembers; a special rate of $79 is available to members of the National Automatic Merchandising Association, Specialty Coffee Association of America, Green Coffee Association and Coffee Association of Canada.